No Side
by Tsunade115
Summary: The Straw Hat pirates get themselves into enough sticky situations. Try being a marine captain hot on their trail.
1. Westport

Notes: Well this is my first attempt at writing something more than a one shot. I don't own One Piece, Eiichiro Oda does. I'm just borrowing his characters for a bit.

---

There was a very good reason why Smoker, after all of his years of service in the Marines, held such a low rank. It didn't matter to him much, as long as he could get his job done. According to headquarters, there were three types of marines. There were the big guns, the ones with immense power - usually devil fruit users - who could not only use that power to serve, but were also adept at following orders. Then there were the average masses; good men and women who moved up through the ranks in an orderly fashion. And then there were men like Smoker. Believers in true justice. And to the higher ups, this was nothing but a euphemism for trouble.

Smoker didn't care. Internal Marine politics was something that bored him, frankly. As long as they let him do his job with a reasonable amount of space he couldn't really care less about a title. That mentality had worked for years. It also worked out well from headquarters' point of view, they couldn't deny his merits. Or his power. Eating a devil fruit could get one far in life. And maybe even a little closer to death.

---

_"History?" The boy swallowed deep in his throat._

_"I searched for it my whole life."_

_The moon peeked through the small window casting hints of reflection on the bars of the cell. The man inside was mostly hidden in the shadow,though a sort of light seemed to surround him, finding its way into his heavy words. He couldn't have been comfortable with those iron shackles encircling his wrists and ankles, and chains keeping him firmly against the wall.A smile never left his face._

_"If this is so important, then why are you telling me?"_

_The man gave a husky laugh._

_"You wanted to talk to me, right boy? I'm at the end of my life. I have nothing to hide."_

_The boy swallowed again, his mouth sucked dry from the very presence of the prisoner._

_"You wouldn't understand it anyway."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"Come a little closer."_

_The boy was not afraid, though he probably should have been. Taking a step forward, he leaned his face in between two of the bars, letting the man get a good look. _

_"There's something in your eyes that I don't see every day."_

_"W...what is it?"_

_"Honesty. You'll grow into a good man. What's your name?"_

_"S...smoker." He choked the word out, his name felt small and insignificant._

_Especially in front of the man who carried the weight of the name Gold Roger._

---

"Tashigi." Smoker said from his seat at the head of the ship. The air was surprisingly cool for being so near Arabasta. Log pose locked in place. Headquarters didn't send an eternal one.

"Yes, Sir?" She was soon standing at the seat beside him, waiting for him to give a slight nod for her to take a seat.

They weren't the most formal of Marines, but she seemed to keep a few more habits of formality than he ever did.

He gave the nod and she sat beside him, back straight.

"Relax a bit. The next island is at least a week away."

She exhaled into the breeze that pushed her hair back, her eyes not leaving the sea in front of her.

"I wonder if they want us to be stalled."

"I believe we can catch up to them, Sir." She wanted to remain positive knowing full well why an eternal pose hadn't been sent to assist them. They were probably sour with his back talk and refusal to accept the promotion...maybe even still a little miffed that he had left his post in Loguetown without notice.

She looked at her Captain out of the corner of her eye, he looked strong and solid. He always looked that way, even when she sensed he wasn't feeling it.

What was it about the Straw Hats that made them so impossible to defeat. She'd seen it with her own eyes, but it was one thing to see and another to believe. And she'd let them get away, when they were right there in her reach.

A week to the next island. Nothing to do but enjoy the ride.

---

Smoker was 18 when he ate the devil fruit. Within the same year he picked up his cigar habit when one of the local boys gave him one as a congratulations for being accepted into the Marines. It was probably no coincidence that he took to them immediately.

It was also no coincidence that he started out as a 1st Lieutenant and was a Captain by the end of the first year. They liked to move the devil fruit users up the ranks quickly to always have a wealth of backup, should they need any replacements in the much higher ranks. The pool was steadily growing.

His father was especially proud of his accomplishments. It was expected for a man of this family to be a Marine, and a respected one at that. He was long since retired, but still walked with a rigid step and was known to salute out of sheer force of habit.

Even at 18, lines settled on Smoker's face making him appear much older. Something about watching the Pirate King executed with a grin struck across his face made a 12 year old boy grow up quickly. He remembered the wave that passed over the crowd from that small execution platform; he could almost see it stretching across the four seas and all over the world. In just that one instant, everything changed.

It was at 20 when he caught his first big time pirate: the first mate of a relatively well known Captain. 25 million bounty, nothing to sneeze at, especially at the time. He caught the pirate very close to the North Blue border and called headquarters to see where they wanted him sent. He learned something about the Government that he didn't know before that day. Something he wasn't sure how to feel about.

He knew of the Seven Armed Seas. He thought it was dirty to be forming alliances with the enemy, but it was a tactic to defeat this age of pirates from the inside out. And the more powerful they became, the more the Government wanted control. It made sense. He didn't know much of how it worked, but he was asked to let the first mate escape for the same reasons he'd been shot up the promotion line.

His captain showed potential and they wanted to let him grow. It made Smoker want to rip the embroidered "Justice" from the back of his jacket.

So this was the game. To let pirates do as they want as long as they were good at it. And screw the collateral damage, that's not important to the Government. He wondered if the motto should be "Power" instead.

And that's when he got on the line and spoke very calmly to his Commander to voice his feelings on the incident. As calmly as one can spew obscenities, anyway.

He was stationed in East Blue, the weakest of all the oceans, where they could be fairly sure no huge forces would arise. He could catch the little annoyances before they got to the Grand Line and wasted anyone's time there.

He started smoking a second cigar that day.

---

Smoker was wrong about the week. It only took five days to arrive at the island with the strong wind behind them.

They called the town Westport because it was directly West of a particularly troublesome part of the Grand Line. An area where the magnetic forces wereespecially strong and would cause one's log pose to point straight up in the air. Because of this, marines were equipped with an eternal pose that pointed straight to Westport, it was quite a detour from the path that an average sailor would take. The town had become a bit of a notorious marine hangout. It was far enough in the Grand Line where a sailor started to feel weary, maybe a little homesick, and definitely in the mood for a good, strong drink. To aid in it's notoriety, a log pose only took 24 hours to set there. Just enough time to hit the bars, get some sleep and get the hell out.

Bars and inns lined the main street along with the most unprofessional looking marines that no one would speak of once they set sail. They docked aroundten in the evening when, as they say, the night was young.

Tashigi couldn't help but notice that Smoker was the only one left on board after all of the others had filed out. Elbows on his knees and face directly in his palms.

There were bound to be higher officers here. Maybe even ones who knew that he was acting outside of his orders. The last thing he was in the mood for was some kind of query about this. It had really been a long enough couple of weeks.

"Are you going to wait here on the ship, Sir?" She asked.

"Dammit, Tashigi. I'm not in hiding, here."

"Of course not, Sir."

"Let's go." He said through a long exhale.

He shifted and pulled his jacket up around his neck, looking more like he'd rather just pull his head all the way inside. Tashigi may have found it a little silly, but she wanted to do the same.

There was a bar for everyone here. Quiet hole-in-the-wall types, ones with heavy smoke in the air and loud, blaring music. Alittle further down the strip of road could be found a few of the more colorful types with silhouettes of women hanging on the signs outside.

Tashigi excused herself to take a walk just outside of the small town. The area was heavy with trees, but she was sure she could find some kind of clearing that would provide enough space to get a little exercise and practice her techniques. A luxury that one didn't have at sea.

Smoker sat himself down at one of the quieter dives and found a dark corner where he could pull on some rum and watch the people come and go. He was about mid drink when he settled into the atmosphere enough to lean slightly in his chair and take a deep breath.

The sound of a faint explosion somewhere outside of the island was enough to straighten him up again.

And somewhere on the edge of town, a lone pirate was wondering how in the hell he ended up there.


	2. Clash

Disclaimer: I still do not own One Piece.

_ooo_

When Ace set out that morning, he hadn't really planned on sinking a marine ship.

He was very aware of the fact that not only was he infamous, but he stuck out like a sore thumb. He followed a couple of marine ships for about half a day, and because they were going the same direction as he was, it made navigation more relaxed. They opened fire about an hour or two after he expected them to.

He really wasn't _planning _on sinking the ship...it was more like he was planning on taking a detour once they spotted him, and he was a little distracted when he noticed that the island ahead didn't look anything like Jaya. While he was looking away, a bullet grazed his hat. The rest of the bullets passed through his skin in a whirl of fire and suddenly the two ships were on either side. The capture of Fire Fist Ace was a guaranteed promotion for anyone involved.

They were jumping out of the ships in droves, getting on small boats and heading towards him.

At this point, there really was no chance for a graceful exit.

_ooo _

The first thing that Smoker noticed, post explosion, was a whole lot of nothing.

A man at a table nearby ordered another drink. Some of them were gathered around a pool table watching a heated game, and he wondered if they were so busy knocking the balls around that they had missed the noise entirely. The music, soft upon arrival, was only getting louder and beginning to pound in his ears. He slammed his shot glass on the table, earning a couple of raised eyebrows.

Funny that they heard it and bothered to take the time out of their evening to notice.

He rose from his seat and left the bar, hoping that none of these men were on the clock. He didn't forget to return the smile from the man at the door with a sneer.

A dark cloud of smoke rose above the trees near the Northern part of the island. It was impossible to miss even from ground level. And Smoker was high enough to get a better view.

_ooo _

Tashigi heard it sometime between when her eyes left the sky and when they returned to the ground, mid spin. And it caught her just in time to give her landing all the grace of a face fault.

A ship was sinking. No, two ships. Maybe more.

The smoke above the trees wasn't clear enough to be her Captain and there was someone approaching her from behind.

She pieced all of this together quickly in her mind, turned around and saw a man slipping behind a tree.

He pressed a finger to his lips and smiled.

And she would have caught up to him if she could have seen through the flames.

_ooo _

Ace could have thought of a few colorful words to describe his predicament, but none of them had the time to coalesce in his mind between the thoughts of needing to get the hell out of the water and wondering where exactly the other half of his schooner was.

Sea water dripped from his arms and as his skin dried, he could already feel the strength returning to his body. If he had to paddle on that small piece of wood for a moment longer, he probably wouldn't have had to worry about any of this at all.

He thought he recognized the girl with dark hair and glasses from somewhere, but couldn't say where…and didn't have a chance to ponder when she was coming at him in full stride with a sword gripped in her hands. She wasn't wearing a marine uniform, but she certainly didn't seem happy to see him either.

It was agonizing to get the flames out. And he ground his teeth into some kind of crooked smile as he forced his flesh into fire. He could only use one hand, the other was still dripping wet.

Maybe a somewhat graceful escape was in the cards after all.

_ooo _

"He went that way! Behind those trees!" Tashigi called out to her quickly approaching Captain.

"Behind _what _trees? We're in the middle of a damn forest!"

She threw her arms in the air for a moment before settling on a point in the clearing. Smoker noticed the singed tree branches, let out a low grunt and began running, Tashigi at his heels.

He heard a few gunshots behind them and didn't even want to think about the disarray that they were leaving behind. He had a clear target now and was sure that this was the source of the evening's headaches.

Though he had to admit to himself that he was at least a little bit surprised that someone else on this island was trying to do something about the mess. He picked up speed, lifting himself from the ground on a cloud of smoke.

He waved at Tashigi and she knew to keep watch from behind.

_ooo _

Ace needed a moment to breathe, but didn't have the luxury. The faint smell of smoke was beginning to curl into his nostrils and that could mean anything. And of all of the things it could mean, he didn't like the thought of any of them.

He was high in the branches, looking for a means of escape from the island. When he saw the bright lights of the strip it finally dawned on him where he was.

He'd heard of this place before, but had never actually been here. Never really wanted to be here either, but the thought of just how far down he was on the ladder of bad luck made him laugh. When it rains it pours.

All of the confusion was coming from right where he had landed on the island. Perhaps this clash of marines from all over the world, in different levels of inebriation, would be enough to buy him the time to get down to a boat. Just one little boat.

The smell of smoke increased to the point where he wondered if he'd started some kind of forest fire behind him, but didn't look behind. He saw a straight path to the top of the strip, and from the clear shorelines he could see on either side, the marine ships must have been docked right at that point.

If they weren't, he'd really have something to laugh about.

He took a deep breath and kept his eyes focused on one point of light at the top of the strip, running the entire way.

_ooo _

Amid all of the greens and browns of the forest, Smoker was looking for a speck of orange.

Because it just _had _to be him. It had to be that cocky brat. No one else, save maybe Luffy, would leave this kind of spectacle behind…and the singed trees were enough for him to call out judge, jury and executioner on one Fire Fist Ace.

His body was blurred almost entirely in smoke as he quickly scanned the forest, raising and lowering himself among the trees. All he needed was one glimpse of orange and he'd have found his man. And he couldn't have gotten far.

He heard a voice somewhere to the left and could almost make out the word 'stop', but it must have been his imagination because no one in their right mind would be stupid enough to yell out that word to a marine in the middle of a chase, with the target so close by.

No one would possibly get in the way of a man trying to do his job when no one else on this island was sober enough to do it.

He nearly bit through his cigars when he did stop. Not because he made the conscious decision to, but because the large man in front of him was blocking his path and he had to, just a split second before the inevitable collision.

He didn't recognize the man, nor did he have the time to think about who he was.

"My men will take it from here, Smoker," the man said in a voice that was far too calm.

Clearly, this man was joking.

Smoker turned to move around him and continue in his pursuit when two other men came from behind him and stood directly in his path.

He hadn't seen them previously. And now that he had a moment to assess the situation, he realized just how large this man was. He looked like he stood about seven feet tall and his outstretched hands were the size of dinner plates. He was a marine, obviously. Not wearing a typical uniform, but when he turned to nod at his men Smoker could see the edge of the "Justice" on the back of his jacket, and the handle of what was probably his military issued sea stone jutte.

"You're not authorized to be here."

Smoker looked at him, in disbelief that he'd even need to grace this statement with some kind of response.

"I do my job no matter where I am." He scanned the man's jacket looking for some kind of a name to address him by, but found nothing on the pale brown material.

"You can call me Vice Admiral Bloom," the man said, and the words slid out of his mouth in a way that made Smoker's teeth grind. "And I told you, my men will take it from here."

"Well, unless one of them ate a devil fruit that turns them into a human fire extinguisher.."

"I don't need your cocky attitude, Smoker. You're a joke on the Grand Line. You know that?"

Sure, he knew it. Didn't mean he cared.

"Then I guess you're willing to take the blame for this pirate getting away." He wondered for a moment if this wasn't staged. Ace would eventually lead them to Whitebeard. But the Government had been unofficially letting Whitebeard do as he pleased for years now. They couldn't possibly be ready to make their move yet. He scowled in resignation, having to admit to himself that there was a whole lot that he didn't know.

The only thing he was damn sure of was that this was a mockery of what the Government should be.

He sized up Bloom for a moment. He knew that the man had probably eaten a devil fruit and wasn't entirely sure what to expect should he make a break for it. He'd already wasted enough time here, and imagining Bloom's "men taking over" wasn't exactly making him feel any more secure about this.

There wasn't anything on his person to indicate what type of user he'd be. If he was an elemental, it would be almost pointless.

He dug his feet into the ground and bent his knees.

There was literally nothing to lose.

_ooo _

Nothing was ever this easy, so Ace was wary when he reached the line of seemingly empty ships. There were a few marines chatting outside of the bars and they paid him no mind. He could be surprisingly good at not drawing attention to himself when he really put his mind to it.

He was unsure of whether this had anything to do with his skillful stealth or if it said more about the competency of these marines.

No wonder this was the Great Age of Pirates if these few rookies were the only thing standing between him and his escape.

He lowered a small boat from one of the ships. He'd thought about just taking the whole ship, but there probably wasn't time. His schooner was in two pieces and nothing was going to be quicker than that anyway.

He thought about how he could maybe hang a leg off of the back of the boat and propel himself that way. He shrugged…Hey, it was worth a try. The two thin oars inside of the boat were a much less appealing option. He imagined rowing away from a fleet of marine ships.

At least if it came to that, it would be a story to tell.

He was grinning now, untying the ropes and lowering the boat, in absolute disbelief that he'd actually gotten out of this. He had all the confidence in the world, but even Gold Roger was caught once. He hummed to himself just as the boat splashed in the water and swung a leg over the side of the ship, giving a mock salute to the island.

Nothing was ever this easy.

And the reason for the smell of smoke became all too apparent when he slumped back down on the deck under the weight of the jutte.


	3. The Inside of a Prison Cell

Notes: I've decided not to use this site anymore. I am going to be posting my fics at LJ from now on. The rest of this story will be posted at my fic journal (theotheralissa on Live Journal). I will also be linking to the chapters in the onepiece(underscore)fics LJ community. I hope this is not too inconvenient. Thank you so much for reading!

---

No one would have believed it, but when Smoker met with Gold Roger face to face, it was because his father had slipped him a key. His straight-laced, stiff, by-the-book father. And when he handed Smoker the key, there was something burning behind his eyes that Smoker had never seen before.

He didn't understand the full importance of the meeting at the time, but could feel it somehow. He knew that whatever was happening was much, much bigger than him. It was evident when he tried to talk and his throat seized. There was a lump that needed to be coughed out several times before he could squeak out a word.

It wasn't until he left the room that he realized he'd only been in there for about ten minutes. It felt like hours and he nearly floated on the way home. His father pulled him inside by the shoulders and sat him down. Told him to remember that night for the rest of his life.

His mother didn't want Smoker to watch the execution the next day, but his father, who had treated him as a man since he was barely waist high, insisted. It shook her up a little when he left the house the next morning, wide eyed like he was on his way to a birthday party.

His father didn't have to tell him to remember. It would have been impossible to forget.

But twenty two years later, he had to wonder if his father would be ashamed of this sight. He was on the other side of a set of bars now, reeling from the seastone cuffs around his wrists.

Outside of the bars was one of the most elaborate offices he'd ever seen. There was a large desk with various ornaments, compasses and clocks on top. An ornate rug with silver and gold tassles at the ends was spread underneath, and a tall, black leather chair was tucked into the desk. Smoker could smell the leather from his cell.

He took a deep breath trying to let the strong smell wake up all of his senses while the seastone threatened to leave him unconscious again. It was then that he noticed that most of the items hung on the walls were clocks, all set to the same time. There was no logical arrangement, the colors and sizes were mismatched. But they all ticked to the same beat, steadily and much more quietly than Smoker could imagine so many clocks in unison could be.

There were two port-holes just across the room where Smoker could see the sky outside. A grandfather clock ticked and tocked between the port-holes and when the ship swayed while passing over a wave, it slid along the floor.

He reckoned a calendar would be a bit more useful than god knows how many clocks, he could certainly see the time but the date was a mystery. It could have been a day or a week since...

Since...

He remembered everything. Grudginly. Westport, Ace, Bloom...where was Tashigi? Or his ship? Where was _he_?

He groaned. Whatever this little situation was, getting out of it was going to be a pain.

For the first time since Smoker woke up, he heard a noise other than the ticking clocks. A small, orange den den mushi, lost among the clutter on the desk, began to ring. It gradually became louder and Smoker could hear footsteps booming somewhere outside. The man who slammed open the door, sat himself on the smooth leather chair, propped his feet up on the desk (knocking several trinkets off with his large feet) and proceeded to talk about Smoker as if he wasn't there, was Bloom.

His voice was so loud it appeared to shake the room and when he laughed it rumbled and echoed, effectively making Smoker painfully aware of his lack of cigars. And he was gloating about catching that gone bad marine Smoker and Fire Fist Ace and...

Smoker turned his head just slightly to the side and there he was. Portgas D. Ace. Asleep, and barely three feet away from him. He was breathing quietly and Smoker blamed his half-awake state for not noticing him before. But between this and the seastone and that obnoxious man at the desk, Smoker wasn't sure if his temperature could rise any higher.

"Bloom." He said, calmly, after a deep breath.

Bloom raised an eyebrow but continued to bark into the receiver.

"I know you can hear me."

He raised the other eyebrow and turned before hanging up. He had the most ridiculously smug look on his face as if he'd just done something a bit more impressive than end a conversation. Squatting down on the floor until he was about eye level with Smoker, he drew in a puff from a cigar, slowly.

"Why am I here." His words had an edge to them, regretfully not sharp enough to cut through Bloom's expression.

"You know why you're here." Bloom said after a very deliberate pause. "You went against your orders."

"I don't know what your orders are, but when I see a pirate my top priority is to catch him."

"I believe they are also to do as your superiors say."

"And it's necessary to chain me up and put me behind bars."

"You know it's standard procedure for potentially dangerous devilfruit users."

Smoker couldn't argue with that. At that moment, he was potentially dangerous.

"You're going the same place he is." Bloom nodded towards Ace. "Nearest marine headquarters. And no I'm not removing those."

Smoker was only a few feet away from Bloom's face, but could see in his eyes every reason that he was at his rank. He'd stepped over a lot of men to expand his tacky clock collection and call this ship his own.

Neither of them blinked while holding the stare. Smoker knew there was nothing he could say to this man. But he wasn't staying on this ship and his fate was not going to be handed to him by this excuse for a marine.

It was Bloom who broke the stare first and laughed, deep from his stomach.

"We'll be there in two days. Get comfortable."

He left the room, slamming the door again on his way out. Smoker growled.

He hadn't been unconscious long. A full day at the most if he remembered where the nearest headquarters from Westport was correctly. And he couldn't remember a single thing past catching up to Ace at Westport. Bloom had to be a devilfruit user, but what type Smoker could only guess. His power was enough to take Smoker entirely by surprise, and that was no easy task.

But he hadn't just taken Smoker, he'd gotten both him and Fire Fist Ace with almost no struggle, there weren't any visible cuts or bruises on either of them. This was the kind of man that Smoker hated the most. The only thing worse than an idiot. A powerful idiot.

"Well he seems nice." It was Ace who spoke this time. And Smoker had to admit that he had lost at least one of the battles taking place in this room.

"Deja vu." Smoker said only a notch more audible than a mutter. Last time it had been with the younger D. This was really no improvement.

"The bars are made of seastone too. Hmm." Neither of them planned to stick around.

"You were awake?"

"I don't think anyone could sleep with that guy around. He's louder than a train wreck. So how do you suppose we get out of here?"

"_We_ are not getting out. Marine headquarters is where you belong."

"You'd leave me here with that jerk?"

"I don't give a damn who you're left with as long as they're taking you to prison."

Ace grinned.

He was looking around the room for an escape, no doubt. but Smoker couldn't see an obvious one either. He knew, first hand, just how effective seastone could be.

The sky was growing darker outside, 7:42 pm by the nearest clock, when one of Bloom's men brought them a meal. It was surprisingly not half bad. They were even free of the handcuffs while they ate, but ankles were still secured and two men stood just outside of the locked cell, watching.

Even when he watched them carefully as they opened and shut the lock, he didn't see an opening. Once outside of the cell, there was nothing but an unlocked wooden door, but even then he couldn't be sure what would be outside of that. He wasn't even sure what kind of ship they were on and his best guess would be a shot in the dark.

Bloom held all of the cards. Utterly.

When they finished eating the cuffs were promptly replaced. They always had an extra punch to them when they first contacted the skin and Smoker felt a soft blow that was either from the shock or his head striking the wall as he fell back into sleep.

---

When Hina heard word of Smoker's disappearance, it was only with a twinge of regret that she let her expression betray her to the few men in the room. Her lips curled up just enough at the edges that two of the men left the room and prepared to turn the ship around. It was a safe bet that would be her next order.

She wasn't worried. If anyone was capable of taking care of himself, it was Smoker. But that he had left in custody and now i that /i ship was unaccounted for...well that was interesting. And all of this was within range of where she was stationed. Not that she owed him anything.

But the sky was curiously dark that day and sometimes she swore she could just smell when something was amiss.

She pulled a log pose out of a drawer and tossed it to the man closest to the door, pulled her cigarette out of her mouth and breathed the orders to him through the smoke. The men who had prepared to turn the ship were right to do so.

She smiled.

"Hina curious."


End file.
